There are a large number of medical procedures that result in injuries to blood vessels. Similarly, there are numerous examples of bleeding caused by traumatic injuries, hematological disorders, and from unknown causes. When the site of bleeding is not readily accessible, such as an injured vessel located deep within the flesh, or inside a body cavity, a simple and effective method of hemorrhage control that can access the site within the body and seal the injured vessel is needed. Similarly, tissue may be divided by either traumatic injury or surgical procedure, and require sealing to approximate the edges of the injury in order to restore function. Current sealing products and devices have one or more deficiencies, usually due to their inadequate performance, or their reliance upon non-natural components that interfere with normal healing.
The need for improved technologies to address these injuries is significant. For example, in the case of blood vessels that have been deliberately punctured as part of a diagnostic and/or therapeutic procedure (such as cardiac catheterization, balloon angioplasty, vascular stenting and the like), over seven million such procedures are currently performed every year, but with a 9% overall complication rate and a 1-3% major complication rate (See Millennium Research Group: Global Markets for Vascular Closure Devices 2006). These complications can lead to significant morbidity, increased expense, a requirement for additional procedures and/or devices, extended time in the medical facility and conversion of outpatients to inpatients. Commercially available products now available only reduce the major complication rate by one half of one percent (See Arora et al: Am Heart J. 2007 April; 153(4):606-11) to 2.4%. Nevertheless, despite this poor performance, even these devices are currently used since the costs and consequences of procedure-induced complications is so high (See Resnic et al: Am J. Cardiol. 2007 Mar. 15; 99(6):766-70).
Not only are there the above described complications associated with therapy itself, closure of the access hole(s) created in the blood vessel is a significant source of additional complications, including uncontrolled hemorrhage, pseudoaneurysm, hematoma, arteriovenous fistula, arterial thrombosis, infection, and retained devices (See Meyerson et al: Angiographic Access Site Complications in the Era of Arterial Closure Devices Vasc Endovasc Surg, 2002; 36 (2) 137-44). These additional complications may lead to prolonged closure procedures, hospitalization, the requirement for surgical repair, and even tissue loss or death.
Currently, the primary means of closing the access hole in the vessel has been to allow a natural blood clot to form at the puncture site. This has generally been accomplished by manual compression, but various products have recently been developed in an attempt to reduce the time required to achieve vascular closure. Such devices automate the application of pressure over the injury site, suture the hole in the vessel, clip the hole shut, or apply some sort of patch or pad that allegedly increases the formation of a natural clot at the site. These devices are convenient and gaining in popularity, but their overall safety appears over estimated. Indeed, far from being risk free, these devices may be associated with unique levels of hemorrhagic and cardiac risks including myocardial infarction, stroke and death (See Rao, S. Implications of bleeding and blood transfusion in percutaneous coronary intervention. Rev Cardiovasc Med. 2007, 8 Suppl 3:S18-26.).
Significant risks have been reported to be associated with all classes of vascular closure devices. Most seriously, the severity and the difficulty in treating complications are generally greater when vascular closure devices are used (See Nehler et al. Iatrogenic vascular injuries from percutaneous vascular suturing devices. J. Vasc Surg 2001 May; 33(5):943-7; Castelli et al: Incidence of vascular injuries after use of the Angio-Seal closure device following endovascular procedures in a single center. World J. Surg. 2006 March; 30(3):280-4.). The use of such devices is even associated with higher risks among patients having complications of pseudoaneurysms, failure to successfully treat such pseudoaneurysms, blood loss, transfusions, extensive operations to correct the problems and arterial infections (See Sprouse et al. The management of peripheral vascular complications associated with the use of percutaneous suture-mediated closure devices. J Vasc Surg. 2001 April; 33(4):688-693.). Moreover, some of these complications can be deadly, particularly in patients with diabetes, obesity and previously implanted devices (all conditions commonly found in patients in whom such closure devices are frequently used) (See Hollis and Retiring. Femoral endarteritis associated with percutaneous suture closure: new technology, challenging complications. J Vasc Surg. 2003 July; 38(1):83-7.). Accordingly, there remains a great need to develop a vascular closure system that avoids the problems associated with use of known vascular closure devices.
Another medical situation involving treatment of injured internal tissue is the repair of herniations. There are numerous types and locations of hernia, and the surgical repair techniques vary widely depending thereon. Both open and endoscopic procedures are currently in use, and may involve the use of sutures alone or sutures in combination with various kinds of meshes or supports for the injured tissue. Major complications for most hernia repair procedures include pain and the requirement to re-do the repair (See American College of Surgeons. When you need an operation . . . About Hernia Repair, available at: http://www.facs.org/public info/operation/hernrep.pdf).
Similarly, there is also a need to improve the therapeutic options for treatment of simple bleeding conditions such as epistaxis, which requires professional medical treatment in 1 of 7 people in their lifetime (See Evans: Epistaxis, emedicine (2007) available at www.emedicine.com/EMERG/topic806.htm). In fact, epistaxis is frequently cited as the most common ENT emergency (See Hussain et al: Evaluation of aetology and efficacy of management protocols of epistaxis. Ayub Med Coll Abottabad, 2006 October-December; 18(4):63-6) The difficulty in treating these cases is evidenced by the fact that 1.6 out of every 10,000 patients are hospitalized for epistaxis that is refractory to normal treatment (See Viehweg et al: Epistaxis: diagnosis and treatment, J. Oral Maxillofac Surg 2006 March; 64(3):5 11-8). Current treatment options include packing, chemical cauterization, electrocautery, surgical ligation and embolization (See: Ortiz & Bhattacharyya: Management pitfalls in the use of embolization for the treatment of severe epistaxis, Ear Nose Throat J. 2002 March; 82(3):178-83.) Frequently, multiple treatments with different technologies are required to effectively treat this often life-threatening condition (See Siniluoto et al: Embolization for the treatment of posterior epistaxis. An analysis of 31 cases. Arch Otolaryngol Head Neck Surg. August; 119(8):837-41; Gifford & Orlandi: Epistaxis. Otoloaryngol Clin North Am. 2008 June; 41(3):525-36, vii).
There are now in use a number of newer haemostatic agents that have been developed to overcome the deficiencies of traditional gauze bandages. These haemostatic agents include the following:                Microporous polysaccharide particles (TraumaDEX®, Medafor Inc., Minneapolis, Minn.);        Zeolite (QuikClot®, Z-Medica Corp, Wallington, Conn.);        Acetylated poly-N-acetyl glucosamine (Rapid Deployment Hemostat™ (RDH), Marine Polymer Technologies, Danvers, Mass.);        Chitosan (HemCon® bandage, HemCon Medical Technologies inc., Portland Oreg.);        Liquid Fibrin Sealants (Tisseel V H, Baxter, Deerfield, Ill.)        Human fibrinogen and thrombin on equine collagen (TachoComb-S, Hafslund Nycomed Pharma, Linz, Austria);        Microdispersed oxidized cellulose (M•Doc™, Alltracel Group, Dublin, Ireland);        Propyl gallate (Hemostatin™, Analytical Control Systems Inc., Fishers, Ind.);        Epsilon aminocaproic acid and thrombin (Hemarrest™ patch, Clarion Pharmaceuticals, Inc);        Purified bovine corium collagen (Avitene® sheets (non-woven web or Avitene Microfibrillar Collagen Hemostat (MCH), Davol, Inc., Cranston, R.I.);        Controlled oxidation of regenerated cellulose (Surgicel®, Ethicon Inc., Somerville, N.J.);        Aluminum sulfate with an ethyl cellulose coating (Sorbastace Microcaps, Hemostace, LLC, New Orleans, La.);        Microporous hydrogel-forming polyacrylamide (BioHemostat, Hemo dyne, Inc., Richmond Va.); and        Recombinant activated factor VII (NovoSeven®, NovoNordisk Inc., Princeton, N.J.).These agents have met with varying degrees of success when used in animal models of traumatic injuries and/or in the field, and with limited success in the sealing of therapeutic vascular injuries.        
Liquid fibrin sealants, such as Tisseel VII, have been used for years as an operating room adjunct for hemorrhage control. See J. L. Garza et al., J. Trauma 30:512-513 (1990); H. B. Kram et al, J. Trauma 30:97-101 (1990); M. G. Ochsner et al, J. Trauma 30:884-887 (1990); T. L. Matthew et al., Ann Thorac. Surg. 50:40-44 (1990); H. Jakob et al., J. Vasc. Surg., 1:171-180 (1984). The first mention of tissue glue used for hemostasis dates back to 1909. See Current Trends in Surgical Tissue Adhesives: Proceedings of the First International Symposium on Surgical Adhesives, M. J. MacPhee et al., eds. (Lancaster, Pa.: Technomic Publishing Co; 1995). Liquid fibrin sealants are typically composed of fibrinogen and thrombin, but may also contain Factor XIII/XIIIa, either as a by-product of fibrinogen purification or as an added ingredient (in certain applications, it is therefore not necessary that Factor XIII/Factor XIIIa be present in the fibrin sealant because there is sufficient Factor XIII/XIIIa, or other transaminase, endogenously present to induce fibrin formation). As liquids, however, these fibrin sealants have not proved useful outside certain specific procedures.
Dry fibrinogen-thrombin dressings having a collagen support (e.g. TachoComb™, TachoComb™ H and TachoSil available from Hafslund Nycomed Pharma, Linz, Austria) are also available for operating room use in many European countries. See U. Schiele et al., Clin. Materials 9:169-177 (1992). While these fibrinogen-thrombin dressings do not require the pre-mixing needed by liquid fibrin sealants, their utility for field applications is limited by a requirement for storage at 4° C. and the necessity for pre-wetting with saline solution prior to application to the wound. These dressings are also not effective against high pressure, high volume bleeding. See Sondeen et al., J. Trauma 54:280-285 (2003).
A dry fibrinogen/thrombin dressing for treating wounded tissue is also disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 6,762,336. This particular dressing is composed of a backing material and a plurality of layers, the outer two of which contain fibrinogen (but no thrombin) while the inner layer contains thrombin and calcium chloride (but no fibrinogen). While this dressing has shown great success in several animal models of hemorrhage, the bandage is fragile, inflexible, and has a tendency to break apart when handled. See McManus et al., Business Briefing: Emergency Medical Review 2005, at 78.; Kheirabadi et al., J. Trauma 59:25-35 (2005). In addition, U.S. Pat. No. 6,762,336 teaches that this bandage should contain 15 mg/cm2 of fibrinogen to successfully pass a porcine arteriotomy test that is less robust than that disclosed in this application (see Example XI). Moreover, although U.S. Pat. No. 6,762,336 discloses that bandages comprising two layers of fibrinogen, each with a concentration of 4 mg/cm2 to 15 mg/cm2 may provide effective control of hemorrhage, it further teaches that “fibrinogen dose is related to quality. The higher dose is associated with more firm and tightly adhered clots. While lower fibrinogen doses are effective for hemorrhage control during the initial 60 minutes, longer term survival will likely depend on clot quality.”
Other fibrinogen/thrombin-based dressings have also been proposed. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 4,683,142 discloses a resorptive sheet material for closing and healing wounds which consists of a glycoprotein matrix, such as collagen, containing coagulation proteins, such as fibrinogen and thrombin. U.S. Pat. No. 5,702,715 discloses a reinforced biological sealant composed of separate layers of fibrinogen and thrombin, at least one of which also contains a reinforcement filler such as PEG, PVP, BSA, mannitol, FICOLL, dextran, myo-inositol or sodium chlorate. U.S. Pat. No. 6,056,970 discloses dressings composed of a bioabsorbable polymer, such as hyaluronic acid or carboxymethylcellulose, and a haemostatic composition composed of powdered thrombin and/or powdered fibrinogen. U.S. Pat. No. 7,189,410 discloses a bandage composed of a backing material having thereon: (i) particles of fibrinogen; (ii) particles of thrombin; and (iii) calcium chloride. U.S. Patent Application Publication No. US 2006/0155234 A1 discloses a dressing composed of a backing material and a plurality of fibrinogen layers which have discrete areas of thrombin between them. To date, none of these dressings have been approved for use or are available commercially.
A number of different techniques, including the use of liquid fibrin sealant, have been proposed for sealing the punctures in blood vessels made to secure vascular access. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 7,357,794 discloses devices, systems and methods for acute or chronic delivery of substances or apparatus to extravascular treatment sites. U.S. Pat. No. 7,335,220 discloses apparatus and methods for sealing a vascular puncture using an expanding lyophylized hydrogel plug. U.S. Pat. No. 7,300,663 discloses adhesion and sealing of tissue with compositions containing polyfunctional crosslinking agents and protein polymers. U.S. Pat. No. 7,399,483 discloses a carrier with solid fibrinogen and solid thrombin; U.S. Pat. No. 7,335,220 discloses apparatus and methods for sealing vascular punctures. U.S. Pat. No. 7,115,588 discloses methods for treating a breach or puncture in a blood vessel. U.S. Pat. No. 7,008,442 discloses vascular sealant delivery devices using liquid formulations. U.S. Pat. No. 6,890,342 discloses to methods and apparatus for closing vascular puncture using a guidewire and/or other surgical implement extending from the wound on which a haemostatic material is moved into contact with an area of the blood vessel surrounding the wound. U.S. Pat. No. 6,818,008 discloses percutaneous puncture sealing method using flowable sealants U.S. Pat. No. 6,699,262 discloses a percutaneous tissue track closure assembly and method using flowable materials. U.S. Pat. No. 6,613,070 discloses sealing vascular penetrations with haemostatic gels. U.S. Pat. No. 6,500,152 discloses a device for introducing a two-component liquid fibrin adhesive into a puncture channel. U.S. Pat. No. 6,325,789 also discloses a device for sealing puncture wounds using liquid or paste fibrin sealant. U.S. Pat. No. 5,814,066 discloses methods of reducing femoral arterial bleeding using percutaneous application of liquid fibrin sealant. U.S. Pat. No. 5,725,551, U.S. Pat. No. 5,486,195 and U.S. Pat. No. 5,443,481 each disclose the use of two component liquid fibrin sealant for artery closure. U.S. Pat. No. 5,649,959 discloses an assembly for sealing a puncture in a vessel which maintains the fibrinogen and thrombin separately. To date, however, all of these remain little-used in therapy, most likely due to the difficult and time consuming preparation requirements for two-component liquid fibrin sealant compositions.
Similarly, two component liquid fibrin sealants have been used to attach surgical meshes in the treatment of abdominal hernias. The surgical results have been excellent, typically as good or better than the efficacy of suture and staple fixation, with reduced complications and post-operative pain. (See Schwab et al., Hernia. 2006 June; 10(3):272-7)
Liquid fibrin sealant has also be used to treat epistaxis, endoscopic sinus surgery and endonasal surgery ((See Vaiman et al. Fibrin glue treatment for epistaxis. Rhinology. 2002 June; 40(2):99-91; Vaiman et al. Use of fibrin glue as a haemostatic in endoscopic sinus surgery. Ann Otol Rhinol Laryngol, 2005 March; 114(3): 237-41; Vaiman et al. Fibrin sealant: alternative to nasal packing in endonasal operations. A prospective randomized study. Isr Med Assoc J. 2005 September; 7(9):571-4.). All these reports indicate that liquid fibrin sealant may be used with some success at controlling hemorrhage from various locations just inside the nose all the way into the sinuses. However, the time and efforts associated with preparing such sealants make them less than ideal for daily clinical use
Accordingly, there remains a need in the art for solid dressings that can be used to achieve hemostasis and sealing of internal wounded tissue, particularly highly vascularized tissue, and single blood vessels. Additionally, treatment of tissues that have been divided (e.g. due to accident, pathology or surgical intervention) and require re-approximation to promote healing would also benefit from a solid dressing capable of adequate tissue sealing.
The assessment of such dressings requires new techniques that go beyond those previously disclosed for testing haemostatic dressings. The ability of dressings to seal an injured blood vessel has been determined by an ex vivo porcine arteriotomy (EVPA) performance test, which was first described in U.S. Pat. No. 6,762,336. The EVPA performance test evaluates the ability of a dressing to stop fluid flow through a hole in a porcine artery. While the procedure described in U.S. Pat. No. 6,762,336 has been shown to be useful for evaluating haemostatic dressings, it failed to replicate faithfully the requirements for success in vivo. More specifically, the procedure disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 6,762,336 required testing at 37° C., whereas, in the real world, wounds are typically cooler than that. This decreased temperature can significantly reduce the rate of fibrin formation and its haemostatic efficacy in trauma victims. See, e.g., Acheson et al., J. Trauma 59:865-874 (2005). The test in U.S. Pat. No. 6,762,336 also failed to require a high degree of adherence of the dressing to the injured tissue. A failure mode in which fibrin forms but the dressing fails to attach tightly to the tissue would, therefore, not be detected by this test. Additionally, the pressure utilized in the procedure (200 mHg) may be exceeded during therapy for some trauma patients. The overall result of this is that numerous animal tests, typically involving small animals (such as rats and rabbits), must be conducted to accurately predict dressing performance in large animal, realistic trauma studies and in the clinical environment.
In order to minimize the amount of time and the number of animal studies required to develop dressings intended to treat accessible traumatic injuries, an improved ex vivo testing procedure has been developed. To accomplish this, the basic conditions under which the dressing test was conducted were changed, and the severity of the test parameters was increased to include testing at lower temperatures (i.e. 29-33° C. vs. 37° C., representing the real physiologic challenge at realistic wound temperatures (Acheson et al., J. Trauma 59:865-874 (2005)), higher pressures (i.e. 250 mmHg vs. 200 mmHg), a longer test period (3 minutes vs. 2 minutes) and larger sized arterial injuries (U.S. Pat. No. 6,762,336 used an 18 gauge needle puncture, whereas the revised procedure used puncture holes ranging from 2.8 mm to 4 mm×6 mm). A new test has also been developed to directly measure adherence of the dressing to the injured tissue. Both these tests showed greatly improved stringency and are thus capable of surpassing the previous ex vivo test and replacing many in vivo tests for efficacy. These newer tests are described in U.S. patent application Ser. No. 11/882,874, the disclosure of which is herein incorporated by reference in its entirety.
The newer tests described in U.S. patent application Ser. No. 11/882,874 were designed to simulate trauma-derived, accessible wounds with high pressure and flow characteristics. Therefore, for the evaluation of methods and compositions for treating wounded internal tissue, it was preferable to develop additional assays to more accurately simulate the peripheral vasculature and the effects of surrounding tissue.